Digital ArtLords

6 Adventure Hook ideas

Each and every one artist has several worlds inside their mind. They share these worlds through their techniques and art.
What if we take a piece of said worlds, and mold it into a shared story? What if we turn them into honest to goodness, D&D adventure hooks? Let’s find out together.

Faceless People by Afanur Rashid

We Dream of Yellow

Challenge:
Whenever the Moon turns yellow, they come in pairs.
The masked brethren snatch children away from the village that is unfortunate enough to be visited by their ghastly presence.Adventure:
The Parents of the kidnapped children are desperate. They offer every bit of gold they have a bounty. Perhaps the child of an NPC that dealt with the party before was one of the snatched children? Try to make it personal if you can.
When the yellow moon comes, the Masked Duo appears yet again. When they spot the Adventurers, they open a yellow-ish portal and run away from them. The portal remains open for as long the Yellow Moon is in the sky.Encounter:
The portal leads to the “moon” – Or a simulacrum of said moon. A yellow desert with ruins of an old, forgotten civilization. As the PCs explore, they find the children stuck to structures, they sleep inside transparent blue crystal-like structures.
The Duo are now a legion. One of them speaks.
“The dreams of the little ones is what allows us to live. One hundred children for one hundred years. Leave us be.”
If the PCs decide to rescue the children, they will have to go through the faceless legion first.

Vastness by Stefano Scuccimarra

Not all that glitters

Challenge:
There are rumors that inside of an abandoned tower, a treasure like no other awaits for those brave enough to reach for it.Adventure:
The local village has received a boom on visits since this rumor began to spread. The mayor of the small town is quite pleased with the tourists, but most people around the town are not dealing well with the visitors. Despite this, there are several “guides” selling their services for those wanting to reach the abandoned tower, as well some souvenirs created by the local craftsman.Encounter:
Even with a guide, the journey itself is already quite the adventure. Yetis live around the area as well polar bears. The weather chills the bone and the tower is quite far away from the village. The tower itself is filled with skeletons, dressed in ancient armors. If the party survives and reaches the top, they will find a treasure hoard, as well a locked chest. If the players are greedy enough to pick open the lock of said chest… A ghost flies out. The angry king of the ancient tower has returned to this realm!

Cave Crypt by Zachary Graves

Loyal Minds

Challenge:
A mysterious cave has recently opened up next to a relatively well-protected town. All the guards sent to explore have not yet returned. The Lord that rules over the town is willing to pay good coin for those who can discover the fate of his men as well what the cave hides.Adventure:
Said cave is more than it appears. After climbing down the rock formations, the party will find themselves inside a strange construction, one that has an organic feel to its architecture. Soon enough, they find what it looks like a building of some short, being guarded by the Lord’s men. They attack the party without hesitation.Encounter:
The guards are the thrall of a group of Ilithids, who can be seen on the windows of said building, watching the party every movement. Will the Party escape and plan a way to contain the Ilithid menace? Or will they barge in and deal with them on their turf?

Beholder by Kyle van wyk

The big eye on the sky

Challenge:
The party discovers an ancient scroll that lists the current year as the last year of the era of the Humans. “The Big Eye” will come from the skies and destroy civilization as the Party knows it.Adventure:
Trying to warn all kingdoms about this fact will be tough. Anyone could have written this, maybe it’s just a prank from a couple of cheeky yet talented goblins. However, as the Party goes in adventures, sprinkle encounters with cultists of the Eye. They too have found the scroll and lost all hope.Encounter:
As the prophecy states, the Big Eye, an enormous Beholder, travels down to the plane of existence. It just hangs there, observing mankind. What will the players do? Will they challenge the creature? Or leave it be? Will it fullfill the prophecy?

The Heartless Mountain by jimmy ling

The Frozen and Lonely Keep

Challenge:
In coldest nethers of the realms, there is an ancient keep. It is said that the mystery of life and where it began is guarded inside of said keep.Adventure:
The exploration league of the setting is looking for brave souls willing to partake on an odyssey towards the Frozen Keep to uncover whatever secrets it may hold. As they travel towards the Keep, all sort of minor and different adventures might happen. It is a very far away place after all.Encounter:
The Frozen Keep lives up to their namesake. The entrance is frozen, and so everything inside. Trying to break the ice would collapse the structure into itself. However, if they approach the Keep an ice giant greets the group. He is cursed to guard the keep for eternity. However, if the keep is destroyed, the giant would be free. Will the Party destroy a piece of history and civilization to save one lonely soul?

Dungeon Delver by Alexander Nanitchkov

The Dungeon of Despair

Challenge:
An abandoned castle, forgotten by time and space. It lives in the hearts of those who dwell in the underground, in the ruins, in the damp and forgotten caves of the realms. When a villain is deemed vile and terrible enough, the castle emerges to reality to serve as it’s base.Adventure:
The big bad evil guy from your campaign has passed the event horizon. He does something so terrible, so vile, that the Dungeon of Despair materializes around him. And the party is separated by the many rooms of the structure.Encounter:Each member of the party needs to confront something that gave them despair in the campaign so far. It’s the only way out of the room, overcoming their despair or reliving it and surviving yet again. These aren’t illusions, but constructs conjured by the victim’s mind. For all intents and purposes, the despair scenario is the real thing. If the party manages to overcome this, they will quickly find each other and realize each room is a personal despair of one of the victims of the Big Bad Evil Guy. Build up a crescendo of madness until the last room… A room where the Evil Guy summons his biggest despair… And turns against the party!
If they overcome this, the Dungeon of Despair undoes itself from this relam, back to the hearts of dungeoneers. The Big Bad Evil Guy survives to live another day.